8.10.2015

A Bronx Tale: Orchard Beach & City Island Day Trip

To me, summer is synonymous with the beach. And sad as it may seem, with all the craziness of finding a new apartment, packing up, the actual move to Inwood (more on that in a future post), and now, UNpacking (ugh), we just hadn't gotten there yet. The girls were missing out, so in researching area beaches, we decided to try out Orchard Beach, part of Pelham Bay Park in the Bronx.

A short 20-minute drive away from upper Manhattan (& accessible by subway/bus), we ventured out to the former "Bronx Riviera" for a gorgeous day in the sun.

Ready for some fun in the sun! With tons of SPF, obvs.

First, the pluses. A bay-side beach means calm waters for kiddos. There was nary a crashing wave in sight, which meant a lot more fun for the girls. There are showers alongside the boardwalk for washing off afterwards, along with affordable umbrella rentals ($10) for the day. I also like the fact that there are playgrounds right by the beach, in case the kids need to burn off a bit more steam before heading home.

Downside: not the cleanest beach ever. I made the girls keep their shoes on the whole time because I found a few pieces of glass in the sand. Major bummer. I really hate littering, so this was disappointing. Otherwise, it's a beautiful park, and there were tons of people taking advantage of a this ideal summer day.

Trying to own my "mom-bod." Gulp.

Afterwards, we headed to nearby City Island. This area of the Bronx has always been on my radar, but I'd never gotten a chance to pay a visit before. So glad we did! We stopped for lunch at Seafood City (basically the perfect spot for the post-beach crowd... casual, arcades, cash-only, FYI), then ice cream at Lickety Split's. Such a cute spot! We walked a bit of City Island Avenue (their "Main Street") and I was so impressed. Look forward to making a return trip...

Bridgehampton or the Bronx?

Any other suggestions for local beaches we should try before summer comes to a close?